Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About North Douglas herald. (Drain Or) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2024)
North Douglas Herald April 2024 City Desk Roseburg’s City Recorder Amy Nytes Replaces Retiring Patty Hitt By Scooter Brown The City of Roseburg welcomed new City Re- corder Amy Nytes. Nytes (pronounced “NYE tuhs”) began working for the City on Monday, March 4. She replaces Patty Hitt, who retired Thursday, Feb. 29. “We are excited to welcome Amy to the team,” said City Manager Nikki Messenger. “She has hit the ground running. She is a great addition to the team.” Prior to joining the City of Roseburg, Nytes served as the City Recorder/Administrative Aide for the City of Springfield since 2018. Her first role for that city was Administrative Specialist from 2013 to 2018. Nytes also worked as a front office supervisor for the Oregon Urology Institute from 2012 to 2013, a billing specialist for Women’s Care in Eugene from 2009 to 2012, an escrow officer and escrow assistant with Western Title & Escrow in Eugene from 2003 to 2008, an escrow assistant and escrow officer for Evergreen Land Title Co. in Springfield from 2001 to 2003, and a staffing coordinator/human resources for Flex Force Staff in Eugene from 2000 to 2001. She graduated from Yoncalla High School. Her parents live in Sutherlin. Nytes now lives on 2.5 acres with her fiancé, Steve Wages; a Morgan/Bureau of Land Management mustang cross named Bailey; two dogs and two cats. Page 5 Todd Vaughn Senate District #1 Candidate Drain Time Capsule From 1954 Public “Meet & Greet” Saturday, April 20th 2-3:30 pm Abby’s Pizza, Sutherlin Saturday, April 27th 1-3pm at Drain Civic Center Senate District #1 GOP candidate Todd Vaughn will be meeting the public for a series of “Meet & Greet” events in April. Todd Vaugn is a resident of Tiller Oregon and is running for senate seat in Oregon senate District #1, against incumbent David Brock-Smith. In a field of 4 Re- publicans running in the Primary election on May 21st, Todd Vaughn has planned a number of events to interact with potential constituents and to get his message out to voters. The Oregon Primary election GOP winner will then vie against any Demo- cratic, Libertarian, Independant or other challengers for that seat in the November General Election. The Sutherlin Meet & Greet, on April 20th, is open to the public and is from 2: 00pm to 3:30pm at the Sutherlin Abby’s Pizza at 1011 West Central Ave. Then Todd will be in Drain on Saturday, April 27th from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Drain Civic Center, 205 West “A” Avenue. There will be light refreshments served. For more information please call Paula Estill, 541 836-7612 Paid for by Friends of Todd Vaughn PAC 2331 Yoncalla Prepares to Enhance Town with Flower Baskets by Carol Mogensen Members of the Yoncalla Beautification Com- mittee have dirty hands from planting flowers in the hanging baskets that will line city streets this spring and summer. By Mother’s Day, 16-inch baskets will line Eagle Valley Road and Main Street along with 12-inch baskets located throughout town. The Beautification Com- mittee welcomes sponsorship of the 16-inch flower baskets at a cost of $80.00 per basket. Smaller 12-inch baskets for personal use may be purchased for $40.00. Anyone wishing to buy baskets or donate to sponsor baskets should contact the committee treasurer Doris Bartlett at (541) 315-0608 or P.O. Box 936, Yoncalla, OR 97499. The Beautification Committee appreci- ates donations received from the following: Mike and Linda Dickey (Dickey Living Trust), Tammy Eveland (Yoncalla Deli), Benton and Sasha Cameron (Northwest Community Build- ers), Gary and Liz Gilbert, Theresa Jones, Terry and Bonnie Duncan, and MaryEllen Laswell. During the demolition of the Drain City Hall last month, it was discovered that there was a time capsule encased in the walls. It was dam- aged but the contents were preserved. The Her- ald will feature an in depth pictorial next issue. Ethics Commission Investigating Cottage Grove City Council Story by Scooter Brown The state’s Ethics Commission is investigating Cottage Grove City Council for alleged violation of the Public Meeting Law when hiring its new city manager in December 2023. The complaints were lodged by Cottage Grove resident Johanna Zee, alleging that the decision to hire the new city manager was made without public input and behind closed doors. The complaints were filed with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) in January. OGEC is a citizen commission which enforces state laws including Public Meeting Laws. In the complaint, Zee alleges that the hiring of the new city manager, Michael Sauerwein, was conducted during an executive session on Dec. 15, 2023. Under Public Meeting Law, decision- making is prohibited behind closed doors, and executive sessions are not open to the public, though the sessions are recorded, those recordings are not accessible to the public. On March 22, the Commission’s preliminary review findings were made public via a video posted on YouTube. The findings stated that there appears to be a “substantial objective basis” of violations, “by discussing compensation in executive session and in fact making a final decision” in executive session, according to investigator Andrew McIntyre. Some of the materials in the findings are confidential and it is still an ongoing investigation.
